Melissa Venable

Work History

Work History

Education Writer

OnlineCollege.org

Research and write daily articles for the Inside Online Learning Blog (Consumer Media Network) - focusing on providing online students and instructors with information needed to make decisions about their programs. Work with an Editor to fine tune approach of each post and develop new ideas for upcoming articles. Categories include: Resources for Online Students, Current Trends in Online Education, Product Reviews, Educational Advising/Online Student Expectations, and Career Advising. Research and write white paper reports. Moderate a weekly live chat on Twitter (#IOLchat).

Army Career & Alumni Program

Outplacement Counselor

Provided career and job search counseling to military service members, retirees, and confinement facility inmates from a wide range of career fields. Developed instructional materials including slides, video, and group exercises. Published articles in newspaper column and newsletters on job search topics. Presented agency overview to local groups and organizations as a speaker at meetings and workshops.Coordinated with webmaster to update agency’s web pages.

The Maxwell School of Syracuse University

Career Development Specialist

Presented workshops and seminars on career related topics and the job search process: networking, C.V. and resume writing, interviewing, employer research, and job fair preparation to groups of 10-50 students. Counseled a diverse population of master’s and doctoral students, including international students. Assisted clients and students with automated and non-automated resources to research career options.

Kaplan Higher Education

Curriculum Manager

Manage course development projects in undergraduate and graduate programs. Develop project time lines and ensure projects are completed on schedule and in accordance with organizational standards. Collaborate with faculty content experts. Monitor and review course materials for quality. Participate in curriculum evaluation, planning, and research. Work with faculty task force to develop and seek approval of new programs and courses. Coordinate efforts of teams of experts including Subject Matter Experts, Multimedia Specialists, Instructional Designers, and Course Developers.

Graduate Assistant / Instructor / Academic Advisor

While completing my doctoral program I worked in several different roles across campus. These included the following experiences.Taught face-to-face and hybrid format undergraduate course for first-year students. Co-instructor for graduate level courses in Instructional Technology program. Advised undeclared/undecided, pre-nursing, and pre-architecture undergraduate students, as well as students in A.S. to B.S. program in 13 concentrations.

KnowledgeTech, Inc.

Instructional Designer

Worked as part of a development team of programmers and graphic designers to produce computer-based training products for primarily military and government clients. Participated in writing responses to industry issued Requests for Proposals. Met with government and military organizations to present KTI capabilities briefing and establish teaming arrangements for future projects.

Instructional Designer/Manager

Managed a team of two full-time multimedia specialists and four part-time graduate student assistants (Distance Course Design & Consulting Group) to design and develop online academic courses. Employed a systems approach to instructional design focused on the use of learning objectives and standards; reusability of courses and course modules; and use of open source tools, applications, and content. Worked directly with department designated faculty Subject Matter Experts as team members in the process. Conducted business development efforts to secure future course development contracts.

Education

Education

Graduate Certificate

BA

Wake Forest University

PhD

University of South Florida

MEd

University of Oklahoma

MSA

Central Michigan University

Portfolio

Workflow - Lessons Learned
This brief paper was presented as a demo/poster session at ED-MEDIA 2009. I am the primary author of this document that outlines a team approach to the development of online courses and describes lessons learned.

Project Management

Workflow - Systems Approach
This presentation was developed for a "guest speaker" appearance in a synchronous session in a graduate level course (Development of Online Courseware). The slides outline the process and some of the basic planning documents I use to keep us all focused and moving forward.

Research Presentation

Research Presentation
My session at the 2008 Sloan-C International Symposium on Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning was recorded.
The Mediasite video presentation can be viewed by clicking on the image above. Select my session title from the list provided: Online access to career services: Preferences and experiences of undergraduate business students.

Instructional Design

DCDC Quality Distance Learning Design Checklist
This document serves as a guideline for all Distance Course Design &amp; Consulting (DCDC) Group course development projects. I created the draft and all team members contributed to the final product.

Consulting

Consulting/Coaching
A combination of experiences, interests and inquiries led me to work as an independent contractor and consultant providing services related to instructional design and technology, as well as dissertation writing, graduate student job search skills, and resume/C.V. writing.